Outbreaks, bottlenecks expected to slow global growth in ’22

By PAUL WISEMAN
AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — The World Bank is downgrading its outlook for the global economy. It blames continuing outbreaks of COVID-19, a reduction in government economic support and ongoing bottlenecks in global supply chains. The 189-country, anti-poverty agency forecasts worldwide economic growth of 4.1% this year. That’s down from the 4.3% growth it was forecasting last June. It’s also down from the 5.5% expansion it estimates the global economy tallied in 2021. In its Global Economic Prospects report out Tuesday, the World Bank projects that the U.S. economy will grow 3.7% this year, down from 5.6% in 2021. It expects China, the world’s second-biggest economy, to see growth decelerate to 5.1% in 2022 from 8% last year.